


Everything Stays

by VoidGhost



Series: here in the garden (stand very still) [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angel Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Was Raphael Before Falling (Good Omens), Fallen Angel Aziraphale (Good Omens), First Meetings, Garden of Eden, M/M, Reverse Omens au, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 15:49:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21340762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidGhost/pseuds/VoidGhost
Summary: Let’s go in the garden.You’ll find something waiting,Right there where you left itLying upside down.When you finally find it,You’ll see how it’s faded.The underside is lighterWhen you turn it around.-Crowley was sent to retrieve all angels stationed on Earth to prepare for the Great War. There was only one other angel, and he had been in the Garden of Eden since the Beginning.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: here in the garden (stand very still) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538440
Comments: 24
Kudos: 116





	Everything Stays

**Author's Note:**

> A little idea I've had since listening to Rebecca Sugar's songs. Might continue with it, but we'll see!   
Thanks for reading!!

It had been a long time since Crowley was in the Garden. 

It wasn’t all good memories. He wasn’t assigned to go; he just wanted to get away from the expectations of Heaven for a bit, so he slipped away and disguised himself as part of the Garden’s wildlife. A black, red-bellied snake among the branches. It was fun for a while, but duty called eventually. 

Now, it didn’t seem like the Garden had changed at all. Angels could see through the barrier that kept the Garden hidden from humanity, which made finding it fairly easy. He floated down gently onto the Eastern Wall and looked down into the flora, trying to spot what he came here for. 

The Garden had a special kind of flora and ecosystem. Crowley read on it before he arrived - or whatever was recorded nearly six thousand years ago. Nobody else had stepped food here since then. It lived endlessly, would bloom no matter the season, and thrived without care. The fact that they had an angel watching over the Garden for thousands of years seemed unnecessary, now that Crowley thought about it. 

Oh, well. It didn’t matter much anymore. 

His six wings settled behind him. Living on Earth didn’t give him much excuses to stretch them out, so this was a well-deserved trip. He rolled his shoulders, sighing as his spine popped, and fixed his collar and cuffs. 

“Ooh, an Archangel!” 

The soft voice nearly startled him. Crowley faced the angel he was looking for and felt something in him soften. 

Aziraphale was not that different from the files he read up in Heaven. He still dressed in flowing, white robes, and his wings never had reason to be hidden away. His hair was still short and curly, a braided crown of blossoms sat perched on his head, and he had a softness to his frame. His open expression and appearance reminded Crowley of the old days, before the lines between Heaven and Hell were so defined; before the other Archangels shoved sticks up their asses. 

“Have we met?” Aziraphale asked, then shook his head. “No, no, that’s ridiculous.” Crowley opened his mouth to say something, but Aziraphale barrelled on. “Are you here to look over my efforts? I assure you, I’ve kept the Garden in tip-top condition since the humans left! How are they, if you don’t mind my asking? I was always curious about them, Eve seemed so clever and Adam so kind. Are there any new orders for me?” He seemed to realize he was rambling and added, “Oh, pardon me, it’s just been so long since anyone has visited.” He clasped his hands tightly as if that will keep him from talking. 

“...Right.” Crowley straightened and recited his orders. “Principality Aziraphale, Guardian of the Eastern Gate, you have been summoned to return to Heaven as we prepare for the Great War.” 

The grin on Aziraphale’s face fell. His voice was hushed, “The Great War?”

“Yep,” Crowley said, popping the ‘p’. He wasn’t too excited about it, either. “The Antichrist is officially on Earth and we have eleven years until he starts the War. We’re gathering all angels to begin training now.” 

“Antichrist?” Aziraphale’s hand came up to his face, as if he couldn’t believe this news. “Has it been six thousand years already?”

Crowley chuckled awkwardly. “Heh, yeah. Time flies.” He rocked on his feet, impatient. He’s been coasting through his duties ever since being assigned on Earth, and now he suddenly has a list of tasks to get done before Gabriel starts harping at him. 

A sniffling coming from the angel made him soften, though. Aziraphale scrubbed at his face, his lips puckered in an adorable pout. He was cuter than the last time Crowley saw him. 

“So I’ve only got eleven years,” Aziraphale said, his gaze turning out into the desert. Crowley had an urge to wrap him up in his wings, if only to keep that pout from twisting into a frown. 

Aziraphale abruptly turned back to Crowley. “Is the Almighty pleased, at least, with what I’ve done here?” There was careful desperation in his tone, his hands wringing in front of him. 

“Ah, actually, we haven’t heard from the Almighty in...quite some time,” Crowley admitted. He didn’t realize this angel was so out-of-the-loop, but he also didn’t think Heaven could lose an angel. Every day, he finds something else about Heaven that disappoints him. 

“Oh.” Something like relief passed by Aziraphale’s face. “I just thought She wasn’t answering  _ me _ .” 

“I’m afraid She’s been a little stubborn lately,” Crowley said with a laugh. 

Aziraphale frowned, instead. Ah, one with loyalty still. That got Crowley nervous. For some reason, he really wanted to impress this angel. 

In an attempt to salvage the situation, he joked, “Ah, well, of course, Heaven’s been different without Her, I mean, we lost an angel for six thousand years!” He chuckled, awkwardly, then slowly came to realize what he said. 

Aziraphale’s frown disappeared as if his face was a canvas that was just wiped clean. He froze, his wings paused in their typical swaying motion, his blue eyes impossibly wide. Beside them, it seemed like the Garden itself had frozen in time. 

_ Shit _ . Can’t keep his stupid mouth shut. 

“...Look, angel--” 

“So I was forgotten?”

Crowley winced. The was the long and the short of it, but he couldn’t open his mouth to say so. 

“You all forgot about me,” Aziraphale continued, taking a step back, realization turning into hurt. “I could’ve left at any time - I’ve  _ wanted  _ to - but I thought I was being good, I thought that was what She wanted, after what happened with Adam and Eve.” 

Crowley followed a step forward, tucking his sunglasses up on his head as his wings curled closer, trying to offer comfort without any idea how to give it. 

“No, no no, angel, it was an oversight, an accident,” Crowley tried to say. “You didn’t do anything wrong--!” 

Aziraphale let out a gasp as he saw Crowley’s eyes. A shimmery gold, with a white slit pupil down the center. Unique for an angel, but much more unique for a serpent. 

Aziraphale’s expression deepened into betrayal. His voice still held a wonderment, hushed only with the way he was holding back his emotions. “It was  _ you _ . You were the serpent. That day.” 

Crowley couldn’t argue. He had only wanted a day off. Heaven was so busy back then. He was still going by Raphael, still hanging the stars and shaping planets like clay. Leaving his fingerprints in the galaxies. But Gabriel was becoming so pushy, and the rest of his siblings weren’t any help, and Crowley just wanted some time to ‘snake-out’ as he’s come to call it. 

So he came down into the Garden, just for a day, to observe the humans and hide among the animal life. He came up with an excuse later that he’s sure Gabriel still doesn’t believe. But the most important part was that nobody ever found out. 

Nobody found out that he had bitten into a piece of forbidden fruit - which, really, should’ve had a sign on it - and nobody found out that Eve had watched him, only to find herself tempted into eating a piece herself. 

Nobody found out that an Archangel caused the original sin, and Crowley tried to keep it that way. 

There was only one flaw. The Guardian of the Eastern Gate had seen him, in full serpent form, trying to avoid the first rain under a branch. Crowley knew this Guardian, had seen him give away his flaming sword to Adam, and he was already impressed. But then that angel had extended a wing to shield him, thinking he was only a regular snake, and Crowley decided that this was a very interesting angel indeed. 

He dared not to return, in case he ever ran into the angel again and he would be found out. But he never realized this angel suffered from his mistake.

“I never saw you again,” Aziraphale continued. “I thought you were a demon.” He paused to scowl. “But you’re still an angel. And  _ I  _ have been reaping  _ your  _ punishment for millenia!” 

Crowley floundered, the guilt that he’s carried for six thousand years hitting him like a truck full of stone. “I’m--I’m sorry--” 

Aziraphale’s wings flared. There was something hard and determined to his face, now. “You said the Antichrist will end the Earth in eleven years?”

Dumbly, Crowley nodded. 

Aziraphale’s fists clenched as he fixed Crowley with a daring glare. “We will see about that.” 

Then he sent himself upwards, breaking through the barrier that kept the Garden hidden from the rest of the world, leaving this sacred place for the first time. Crowley was too stunned to do anything but watch him disappear over the horizon. 

When he finally regained his senses, he said aloud with only the ancient wildlife to hear: 

“Oh,  _ fuck _ .” 


End file.
